Letters | Imagine for a moment if Gaza were Fredericton
Published Wednesday January 14th, 2009
Re: War in Gaza
Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on Earth.
If Fredericton were like Gaza, its 45,000 people would be fenced in between Queen and Dundonald, and between Regent and Smythe streets.
Inside this gated community would be government buildings, UNB, schools and shops, everything except perhaps Chapters. Its perimeter, airspace and all economic activity would be controlled by an alien power that has the fourth largest armed forces in the world, after the U.S., China and Russia.
Half the population of Gaza is 15 years of age or under, and half is forced to rely on food aid provided by the UN and other humanitarian agencies, a state of affairs brought about by decades of sanctions. That translates to over 22,000 each in a compacted Fredericton.
Gaza has been subjected to at least 100 F-16 strikes per day. According to the UN there are nearly 800 dead with at least 200 children among them.
In a compacted Fredericton, this translates to three strikes per day, and six children dead in 12 days, with UNB, churches, and several government buildings destroyed - enough to occupy the Daily Gleaner's front pages for days.
From Prime Minister Harper and his subjects and now Michael Ignatieff, we keep hearing the sickening mantra that Israel has the right to defend itself, as if history began with Hamas rocket attacks.
Do they not know the jarring words of Moshe Yaalon, the Israeli Defense Forces chief of staff, in 2002: "The Palestinians must be made to understand in the deepest recesses of their consciousness that they are a defeated people."
Isn't this what the Gaza massacres are really about?
Viqar Husain
Fredericton
Too busy for a dog
Re: Pet ownership
I normally wouldn't write but as I sit going through the popular website Kijiji, I am shocked at how many people use the excuse that they are giving away pets, more importantly dogs, due to a lack of time.
When one thinks they want to become a dog owner, one should strongly consider that dogs can live up to 20 years. They are not an inconvenience, nor a novelty. They become family members and look to us to provide for them.
Just because a child wants a puppy or you see a cute face doesn't mean you should get a dog. These loving, four-legged creatures look to us to care for them, keep them safe and love them. We don't have children and just give them away because another baby is on the way - we accommodate them.
I'm not trying to be mean here. I just want anyone who considers investing in a four-legged family pet to realize that they require a lot of time and money and they deserve to get back all the love and companionship they give us.
Furthermore, I don't recommend paying hundreds of dollars for a purebred dog. There are perfectly great dogs and puppies at our local shelters and almost daily they receive discarded pets.
Next time you see a cute dog and that little "Oh, I want one!" thought comes to mind, think about this: do you have the time?
Amanda Finkelman
New Maryland, N.B.
Give your head a shake
Re: Editorial published Jan. 6 called Give me a break
So you feel that raising the HST by two cents is no big deal and that it won't break anybody?
What a silly comment to make, especially at a time like this when people on fixed incomes are struggling as it is.
Give your head a shake.
Bruce Jack
Tracy, N.B.
The present system is flawed
Re: State of the forestry industry
We live in a forest, but people often cannot buy firewood, and we are importing wood pellets from Maine while trees in our province are being cut and shipped to Europe.
Several years ago the forest industry was claiming to employ over 30,000 people and that this justified how our Crown lands were managed.
There is no one talking about jobs today because many have disappeared, and no one is talking about government subsidies to industry in the form of reduced power rates or other subsidies. Despite the dismal state of the forest industry, no one is willing to admit that the present structure is flawed.
There is talk about developing other uses for the wood fibre and the waste. Ideas range from co-generation of electric power to producing chemicals.
The common thread is that the present industry base will retain total control over the Crown lands and the trees that grow on them.
The government actually manages these resources at a loss. Considering the dismal performance, both economically and environmentally, of the government and these companies, the future is not likely to be great.
What is needed is a policy that will allow individuals, groups and communities access to Crown lands and the resources existing on the land. The Crown lands belong to the people of New Brunswick - not the large companies like Irving or Fraser.
Tom Hickie
Fredericton
Help us reach our goal of 8,000 bags
Re: Clothing donations
How would you like to help make a positive change in someone's life? Here's your chance.
The New Brunswick Association for Community Living works on behalf of children and adults who have an intellectual disability and their families, and we truly change lives and change communities each day.
In New Brunswick there are about 22,000 people who have an intellectual disability and we receive on average 100 calls a month for support.
Since we are a provincial non-profit organization, it is up to us to fund our organization through fundraisers, projects and donations. Our Community Collection Program is one way, and it is vital to our existence.
We collect re-usable clothing and household items which generate the funds needed to allow us to reach out and offer support. We are reaching out to you to ask for your help as we must reach a goal of collecting 8,000 bags by March 2009. We especially need clothes, linens, coats, drapes and blankets.
Donations can be made at any of our orange donation bins or by calling us at 1-866-NBACL-4U. A complete list of our donation bin sites can be found at www.nbacl.nb.ca.
You can also organize a clothing drive at your work, church or service club. By taking five minutes to collect the items in your closet you no longer need, you will be directly helping change lives and change communities.
Jason Carr
Director of strategic initiatives
NBACL
Disabled
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Comments (24)
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If Gaza is "...between Queen and Dundonald, and between Regent and Smythe streets." where does Hamas launch their rockets from?
I would suggest they could find a good launch pad at George Street Junior High, or possibly Wilmot United Church. They could also house the terrorists in the basement of St. Paul's or possibly the old train station.
Here is my perspective as a neutral in the argument. You send suicide bombers to me and I will block our border.
You send rockets at me and I will attack you.
You hide in mosques, hospitals and homes and your so-called civilians will suffer.
Unfortunately war isn't about "I kill one of yours and you kill one of mine".
Stop the rockets and stop the suicide bombers. Then I would have some sympathy for the people in Gaza.
Ratios of the dead and injured really don't have any value.
I would suggest you give yourself a reality check. Two things you've said are quite disturbing: 1) "so-called civilians" and 2) that ratios of the dead have no value.
1) All Palestinians are not members of Hamas nor do all support Hamas; no more than all Canadians are considered members of the Conservative Party of Canada or that all support the CPC.
Hamas is a political organization with a militia, not an ethnic group. Everyday, citizens of the Gaza Strip are being killed because of the actions of Hamas, regardless of whether or not they support it - this is collective punishment.
2) I'm not even sure how the approach your statement. Do you not value human life? Consider this: If someone from the NDP kills an American citizen is it reasonable for the US military to level Jack Layton's entire riding of Toronto-Danforth, killing thousands of people regardless of affiliation in response?
That is one extremely biased way to describe Hamas.
Other biased descriptions could be terrorists or suicide bombers.
Hamas is not Gaza, but they were elected by the people to run it. We should not be surprised at the result.
The citizens of Gaza elected Hamas. It is a tragedy that many knew better but could not defeat them. But having elected them, they are now experiencing the results of that election.
-- David Ben Gurion, quoted in Simha Flapan's "Zionism and the Palestinians pp 141-2 citing a 1938 speech.
You're extracting a single statement out of context in order to present the entirety what I've said as biased. The statement you've quoted ends with "not an ethnic group", and is central to my argument against Ron W's ridiculous assertion that Palestians are "so-called civilians" and are all culpable for Hamas' actions.
D STEWART,
You're right, that is a rather poor analogy. However I was not trying to begin a discussion of comparison between the relations of our country and the US with Israel/Gaza's. Rather I was questioning Ron W's apparent belief that ratios of the dead are irrelevent and have no value and therefore his lack of concern for human beings. It's tough to craft an analogy to match such an inane statement.
David Ben Gurion
-- Yitzhak Rabin, leaked censored version of Rabin memoirs, published in the New York Times, 23 October 1979.
"Israel should have exploited the repression of the demonstrations in China, when world attention focused on that country, to carry out mass expulsions among the Arabs of the territories."
-- Benyamin Netanyahu, then Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister, former Prime Minister of Israel, speaking to students at Bar Ilan University, from the Israeli journal Hotam, November 24, 1989.